Multihull One Design-ORMA 70

The MOD70's are off on the final offshore sprint of the European Tour to Genoa from Marseille. Spindrift won the in port racing and have closed the gap on Foncia in the points tally. Foncia needs to finish no lower than second to take the points and the tour.

From the European Tour website:

Match Point?


After some 3,700 miles of offshore racing, over four weeks since leaving Kiel on Sunday September 2nd and 23 City Race heats in Kiel, Dun Laoghaire, Cascais and Marseille, it will be the final 651 miles leg to Genoa, Italy which will decide the MOD70 European Tour overall winner. But, according to the key protagonists, it might be the very last miles that settles it.


When the five MOD70’s finally left Marseille, France this afternoon - at first drifting across the Rade Sud through a patchwork of calms for the crucial prologue around the Frioul Islands – scrapping for the six bonus points gained at the scoring gate on leaving the bay, the mathematical advantage was very firmly with Michel Desjoyeaux’s FONCIA crew.

Yann Guichard’s Spindrift racing team collected the three points bonus, ahead of FONCIA who gained two and Musandam-Oman Sail one, but Spindrift racing now needs to have one boat between them and FONCIA at the finish in Genoa if they are to wrest the inaugural MOD70 European Tour title from Desjoyeaux’s crew.

For Spindrift racing, the team which spectacularly won the Krys Ocean Race in July and who is the only to have won two of the City Race stages on this tour, may seem a big ask. However most of the five teams expect the stage, and ultimately even the overall victory, to be settled on the very last miles of this final leg.

It was the final minutes into Dun Laoghaire and Cascais which decided the finishing order of Leg 1 and Leg 2, so too this last showdown may still be settled over 40 difficult miles in light winds in the Gulf of Genoa on Tuesday morning.

Double Vendée Globe winner Desjoyeaux knows that victory will be only safe when they cross the line, just as Guichard’s crew will not give up hope until they hear their final finish gun. "We have our mission: to keep the momentum going, to have fun, and do our job well. We have to accept mistakes and enjoy it when we do well, that is how we intend to approach it.” Explained Desjoyeaux. In effect, the FONCIA crew’s winning tactic could be as simple as sticking to Spindrift racing like glue!

The departure out of Marseille was slow and painstaking, yet two hours into racing and the fleet are up to sailing at 20 knots. The NW’ly Tramontana came in some 40 miles west of Marseille in the Gulf of Lion and should give a fast downwind passage all the way down to round Menorca late tonight.

Thereafter the evolution of a small low pressure to the east of the fleet will see the NW’ly back to the SW to give a fast sail up to Corsica, but it will be the 80 miles upwind from the Giraglia and into the Gulf of Genoa in light airs which might be the most difficult.

Lying third on the MOD70 European Tour standings Sidney Gavignet and his crew on Musandam-Oman Sail, winners of Leg 4 into Marseille, effectively doubled their lead on Race for Water when they collected that one vital bonus point this afternoon. With four points allocated per offshore place, their surest strategy is simply to stay ahead of Race for Water to be sure of the third step on the podium. But Musandam-Oman Sail’s Cuzon said: “Our goal is to finish third but also our aim is not to try and play with the other boats. We want to play our game, first and foremost. And then see what happens at the finish. As usual we set out to win the leg.”

MOD70 European Tour, Overall Standings at start of Leg 5, Marseille to Genoa (after Marseille Scoring Gate bonus)
1 FONCIA (FRA), M Desjoyeaux (FRA) 238 pts
2 Spindrift racing (EUR), Y Guichard (FRA) 232 pts
3 Musandam-Oman Sail (OMA), S Gavignet (FRA) 204 pts
4 Race for Water (SUI), S Ravussin (SUI) 202pts
5 Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (FRA) S Josse (FRA) 194 pts

 

Foncia and Mich Desjoyeaux in the lead and extending away a little.

From the European Tour website:

Final push north to the finish, it's FONCIA again

On this final night of the MOD70 European Tour there is a notable variation in speeds between the MOD70's as they try to get to La Giraglia and then work their way north to the finish in Genoa.

Michel Desjoyeaux’s team on FONCIA have sailed a tight line close to Cape Corse and have a lead of four miles or so on Race for Water but Stève Ravussin’s crew are sailing five knots quicker, further offshore and still have to make the mark.

Spindrift racing are seven miles behind the leaders in third, duelling slightly with fourth placed Musandam-Oman Sail.

The leaders still had some 115 miles to make to the finish line and, still, very light winds are expected to prevail in the Gulf of Genoa making a slow finish likely. And, as at least two offshore stages so far have proven, light finishes usually mean last gasp place changes. FONCIA maybe have 115 miles between them and the inaugural MOD70 European Tour title, but these can still be some of the hardest fought miles of the tour.

 

It will be another close finish. Foncia has to finish in third or higher to get enough points to win the European Tour.

 

European Tour final results

Foncia has won the European Tour, Spindrift Racing came in first in the Marseille to Genoa leg, Foncia took a gamble on sailing a different track and just edged out their rivals Race for Water and Oman/Musandam Sail to come in second with sufficient points to win the tour.

From the European Tour website:

FONCIA win MOD70 European Tour after amazing finish in Genoa


When they crossed the final finish line, east of the entrance to the port of Genoa at 07h 36min 54 sec local time (UTC/GMT+2hrs), this Tuesday morning 2nd October in second place FONCIA skippered by Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA) took overall victory in the MOD70 European Tour.


FONCIA left Marseille on Sunday afternoon needing to protect their six points lead from Spindrift racing by ensuring that, at worst, they finished directly behind Yann Guichard’s crew.

When Spindrift racing actually crossed the finish line of the 651 miles course from Marseille first it first it looked like they had done enough to win overall. Desjoyeaux’s crew were in fourth 1.2 miles behind but had positioned themselves to the west of their rivals. The breeze filled better from their side of the course and the double Vendée Globe winner and his crew were able to narrowly cross ahead of Race for Water and Musandam-Oman Sail

Just as the conclusion of the first leg from Kiel into Dun Laoghaire was extremely close in light winds, with three boats finishing within 77 seconds then, so too the finale into the Italian finishing port was very incredibly hard on the nerves. Over the last 10 miles of racing, the four top MOD70s struggled against each other in exceptionally light winds through the very early morning.

At seven miles to the finish line, making around 2 knots of boat speed Race for Water, Spindrift Racing and FONCIA had only 0.3 of a mile between them.

Guaranteed second overall Yann Guichard and his Spindrift racing crew played their best option by staying with leg leader Race for Water to the north east of the bay while FONCIA maintained their course heading initially more directly to the finish line.

When they crossed the finish line the Spindrift racing crew, winners also of the Dublin to Cascais offshore stage, cheered loudly but then had an agonising wait to watch FONCIA steal overall victory in this first ever MOD70 European Tour.

Throughout the 651 miles final leg, once again the five one design MOD70 trimarans remained in close visual contact with each other, whether on a high speed 30kts run down from Marseille to Menorca, through a four hour spell of random stormy squalls between the Balearic island and Corsica and for the incredible chess match finish on the Bay of Genoa. Four of the five MOD70’s lead the final leg at different stages, but in the end overall victory – when it came – was FONCIA’s.

Finishing in third on Leg 5, Stève Ravussin’s Race for Water take third place overall on the MOD70 European Tour.


Video of the boats finishing in Genoa and the skippers reflections on the series (in French).



An article from the European Tour summing up the event.

First among equals: FONCIA win first MOD70 European Tour


02.10.12

After exactly one month of racing since leaving Kiel, Germany on the afternoon of Sunday September 2nd the first ever MOD70 European Tour finished this Tuesday morning amidst a beautiful dawn in Genoa, Italy with a hard won overall victory for FONCIA, the crew of Michel Desjoyeaux’s MOD70


After more than 4400 miles of the five offshore racing stages and the 23 City Race series heats at four European Cities, FONCIA’s triumph was only secured in the final mile and 22 minutes of the course.

In a typically audacious last throw of the dice, the double Vendée Globe winning skipper and his crew came from behind to cross two rivals within sight of the finish line. Stealing second place, immediately behind Yann Guichard’s title rivals Spindrift racing, was enough to give overall victory to the FONCIA team who set their foundations with a clean sweep of maximum available points in Kiel and from the Leg 1 offshore into Dun Laoghaire.

Just two points separate FONCIA from Spindrift racing on the final standings, exactly the same delta between Stève Ravussin’s Race for Water which wrestled third from Sidney Gavignet’s Musandam-Oman Sail on the same slow motion, high tension two miles of chess board.

When they left Marseille on Sunday afternoon for the 651 miles showdown stage to Genoa via Menorca and La Giraglia at the north of Corsica, FONCIA had a six points lead to protect from Spindrift racing. Musandam-Oman Sail needed only to keep Race for Water behind to be sure of third.

The fickle early morning winds tested the nerves of the crews. After winning the final leg the Spindrift racing team had to watch as Desjoyeaux and crew crossed Race for Water and Musandam-Oman Sail in one strand of breeze to finish second on the water. The final mile or two was equally painful for Sidney Gavignet’s Musandam-Oman crew.

“When we crossed the finish line I congratulated the team but then in the last mile to the finish we could see that FONCIA had gone off to try and do their own thing and started to think that he could pull something.” Recalls Spindrift racing’s Guichard,. “ Before nightfall last night we had already thought that we could win because they were so far behind.”

In this exciting new strict one design class, this first season has consistently delivered incredibly close racing inshore and offshore. The MOD70’s are fast, but ultimately it has been – as intended - people power: the skill of the sailors and not the technology that has prevailed:

“Sailing is a sport of experience, it is not just a sport about technology and so the more experience you have together the faster you can keep the boat going, the faster you can adapt to new conditions.” Says Desjoyeaux. “It is a real pleasure to sail like this with this crew. Everyone gives their best any hour of the day and night. And even if we make mistakes together, we move on.”

In preparation for this MOD70 programme which is Desjoyeaux’s final events in the colours of his longtime sponsors FONCIA, last year they started a D35 catamaran programme on the lakes with Xavier Revil, Antoine Carraz and Alban Rossolin.

To that core was added outstanding helm-trimmer Manu Le Borgne with whom he won the Transat Jacques Vabre and, as navigator, Charles Caudrelier, a key member of the Volvo Ocean Race winning crew. Others included America’s Cup winning grinder Nicolas Texier, helm-trimmer Thierry Chabagny, Julien Falxa and Antonio Carraz. Desjoyeaux’s management approach is very much to let the crew deliver on their strengths.

FONCIA’s one minor aberration over the event was their fifth in the City Race series in Cascais, Portugal. Otherwise they finished on the podium in each points scoring event. Except for temporarily in Cascais before they won Round Portugal, FONCIA were on top of the MOD70 European Tour leaderboard.

Spindrift racing, winners of the Krys Ocean Race and leaders overall of the Multi One Championship, proved durable close rivals to the end for FONCIA. They won the spectacular Dun Laoghaire City Race series, the Marseille City Race series and the Dun Laoghaire to Cascais offshore leg as well as this Leg 5 offshore into Genoa. But skipper Yann Guichard’s identified the two places deficit on the Round Portugal which, they suffered when FONCIA won as the main contribution to their final difference.

“I think that the mission has been accomplished on this race.” Guichard smiled, “FONCIA wins the MOD70 European Tour by two points on a 240-point aggregate, that pretty much speaks for itself. The third place came down to the final metres on the last leg. Then we had three boats finish in just 77 seconds in Dun Laoghaire. Here it was really close at the finish, well all legs have been very close. We have really enjoyed the racing and I am sure that it has been quite gripping to follow from ashore.”

Circuit and class co-founder Stève Ravussin’s Race for Water finished third overall on the strength of improving consistency. Musandam-Oman Sail suffered a final disappointment in losing that overall finish, but –as one of only three teams to win events – can take great pride in winning the Cascais City Race Series and their big win into Marseille.

 

Michel Desjoyeaux is not called the Professor for nothing !

Class dismissed !

 

Spindrift Racing overall winners of the first MOD70 Championship

Noticed this article on BYMnews, Spindrift Racing have taken out the MOD70 Championship.

http://www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=109993

Spindrift racing wins the first MOD70 Championship

Friday, 05 October 2012

Winners of the Krys Ocean race in June and second overall in the MOD70 European Tour, Yann Guichard and the Spindrift racing crew triumph in the 2012 Multi One Championship.

Yann Guichard and Léo Lucet appreciate the results all the more because a year and a half ago, the Spindrift racing project was a sporting, technical and logistical idea jotted down on a blank sheet of paper. The boat is solid and reliable, the technical team is competent and expert, and the pure talent of the heavyweight sailing team are the ingredients of certain success. The sleek black and white trimaran showed its mettle throughout the different exercises, from the transatlantic race to the long coastal races, through speed runs and inshore courses. Léo Lucet, executive director of Spindrift racing and Yann Guichard are more than satisfied with this resoundingly successful entry into a class that they sincerely hope will develop and grow internationally.

Victors of two of the five legs, two City Race victories, Speed Match victories and bonus points at the departure of each leg, as well as a New York-Brest transatlantic crossing that was achieved in a record time… the whole team on sea and land can be complimented on a remarkable job. “The human aspect of the project is amazing,” states Yann Guichard. “It was a collective adventure, gathering together competencies on the water and logistical talent on land, and it all worked according to the high standards I set. No individual egos or guest stars in this group. I have built a story with people who are engaged and committed to the project, who share my drive and motivation and way of working.”

The program for this first MOD70 season was ambitious, with the Krys Ocean Race and the European tour, made to measure for the international potential of a new class of boats that must seduce a host of new partners. “This format is fantastic,” claims Léo Lucet. “It’s an exceptional international communications tool which worked wonderfully in New York and at every European tour city stopover. VIPs and journalists alike were able to sail with us, and the general public, a stone’s throw away from the boats, really enjoyed the show. The objective, which we reached, was to make the discipline spectacular to demonstrate the excellent visibility it offers to sponsors and partners.”

“It was a real sporting pleasure,” adds Guichard. “Exhausting, demanding - exactly what we, sailors, want.” Guichard, Lucet and the whole sailing team on the black and white catamaran, Pascal Bidégorry, Yann Eliès, Erwan Tabarly, Jacques Guichard, Sébastien Marsset, Jean-Baptiste Levaillant, Devan Le Bihan, Thierry Douillard, Kévin Escoffier, Christophe André, Frédéric Brousse, Nicolas Charbonnier as well as the team on land, Philippe Echassoux, Tim Carrie, Florent Le Gal, Nicolas Débordès and Astrid van den Hove rose to the 2012 challenge.

With its solid team, proven knowhow and indisputable talent on the water, Spindrift racing has climbed the charts in record time. The most immediate next challenge for the young company is to find a partner for MOD70 Nr 05, in order to share strong and motivating values. “Given our results, our media successes and the public’s enthusiasm for this new class, we hope to succeed in this too,” comments an optimistic Guichard.

The five trimarans all finished the races brilliantly, with no more serious incidents than the usual encounters with unidentified floating objects. This year Spindrift racing will have sailed some 15,000 miles, with an astounding mean speed of 28 knots last summer. No small feat and quite a reference in terms of dependability.

“We still aim to progress further”, concludes Guichard, “in all areas – sports, technical, human. We are optimistically and impatiently looking forward to 2013.”

General classification Multi One Championship 2012
1 - Spindrift racing EUR (Yann Guichard, FRA)
2 - FONCIA, FRA, (Michel Desjoyeaux, FRA)
3 - Groupe Edmond de Rothschild, FRA (Sébastien Josse, FRA)
4 - Race For Water, SUI (Stève Ravussin, SUI)
5 - Musandam, Oman Sail OMA (Sindey Gavignet FRA)

Rank Krys Ocean Race 2012
1- Spindrift racing (Yann Guichard)
2- Groupe Edmond de Rothschild (Sébastien Josse)
3- FONCIA (Michel Desjoyeaux)
4- Musandam, Oman Sail (Sidney Gavignet) a
5- Race For Water (Steve Ravussin)

Rank MOD70 European Tour 2012
1- FONCIA avec 284 points
2- Spindrift racing avec 282 points
3- Race For Water avec 244 points
4- Musandam-Oman Sail avec 242 points
5- Groupe Edmond de Rothschild avec 228 points

Astrid van den Hove

 

Good news on the MOD70 front:

here is a quick translate of an article on their facebook page:

The deafening silence of officials MOD70, several months ago, suggesting a bleak 2013 season and an uncertain future, gives a glow to the arrival of Orion Racing. The U.S. team, led by Cam Lewis (America, The Race), has acquired the MOD70 No. 2, ex-Roland Jourdain's Veolia.

As I understand it Jean Pierre Dick is joining the MOD circuit as well with the Virbac Paprec team.

and from Multionedesign via Sailing Scuttlebutt

Orion Racing Join MOD70 Class
Multi One Design (MOD) announced today that US-based Orion Racing has purchased MOD nr.02. "MOD is delighted to welcome an American boat-owner as it increases the number of nationalities in the circuit", said Marco Simeoni, President of Multi One Design. "Orion will bring a new dynamic to the development of the circuit and promote the MOD70 series in the American Market."

Cam Lewis, one of the top American multihull sailors and longtime and ambassador for multihull sailing in the US, is a principal in the formation of the Orion Racing team. Cam Lewis is regarded as one of the top multihull sailors in the US having won the 1988 America's Cup on the Wing Powered Stars and Stripes and skippered the Maxi-catamaran Team Adventure in The Race in 2000.

With 2013 being a transition year for the MOD70 circuit, Orion Racing will be training in the Pacific to fully discover this latest generation of racing multihull. The boat and team will set up a training camp in Puerto Vallarta Mexico in May then move to San Francisco for the summer and fall season. Orion Racing Team preliminary race planning for 2014-2015 includes the MOD70 circuit and the Krys Ocean Race (from Brest to New York).

www.multionedesign.com

 

Does anyone have a pic (or even a line dwg) for the Mod 70 ?

 

Mod 70

At your service, Paddy.... Just noticed the pictures don't show the requisite ama foils-they do have them.

 

If you look at the boat tab on the multionedesign website they have a flash viewer app that lets you view the boat in 3d for some reason it's not working on my computer at the moment but it's probably just me. Might give you some useful information.

http://www.multionedesign.com/en/the-boat.html

 

Thanks Doug.
Now if we could persuade five of those to come over here, the CYCA may consider allowing them to race as a separate class in the Sydney-Hobart.

 

Now that would be something !

I'm sure channel 7 would find a way to edit them out of existence !

 

I'm still taken by these pictures of the MOD 70.

 

Wow-thats close in manouvering! Thanks...

 

Multi's 70(?)

Just saw this on SA-doesn't sound too good for the class-and maybe not for the whole one design concept?
----
The March edition of French sailing mag 'Voiles et Voiliers' has some good details on the problems in the MOD70 circuit (see quotes below). Basically the issue is that teams are unhappy with the organizing company, especially the hefty annual licensing fees it has been imposing (a separate gripe I've also heard is that these fees and higher boat purchase costs are being used to subsidize the financially weaker teams, e.g. Boat 1 - Race for Water skippered by Steve Ravussin -- competitors don't want to be helping another team).

"Everything has gone wrong in the MOD70 class. It's even full-on war between the organizers MOD SA and the shipowners who now communicate only through their lawyers. The reason? MOD SA has not been able to simultaneously manage building the boats and launching the circuit. As a result, some shipowners are objecting to - among other things - the EUR400,000 annual licensing fee paid to MOD SA. No more licenses means no more revenue for Marco Simeoni's company. (...) According to our sources ... MOD SA will be laying off at least two of its three employees, and will likely close up shop. And the MOD70s, who will not take part in any MOD-branded race this year... will change name and call themselves Multis 70, since the name MOD is trademarked. (...) The result: the future Multis 70 will race this year on existing races: Armen Race, Grand Prix Guyader, Artemis Challenge, Transat Jacques Vabre, and a new race, the Route des Princes [start in Valencia], where they will face-off against Lionel Lemonchois' Maxi 80 Prince de Bretagne."Source: Voiles et Voilier (March 2013 edition)